Categories
GUEST EDITOR

From The Desk Of Delta Spirit: The Sandwich Game

Delta Spirit’s new album, Into The Wide (Dualtone), is full of anti-war and pro-working-class songs, steeped in literary and biblical images that will make them resonate with almost any listener. The music is deep and moody, playing off the sound of chiming rock guitars, driving rhythms and anthemic vocals against a thick wall of dark, almost industrial noise. The songs paint pictures of the disenfranchised, disillusioned and downcast citizens of our country, folks struggling to get by, but still maintaining their faith in the promises of the American dream. Delta Spirit will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on the band.

Sandwich

Kelly Winrich: A legendary game that we’ve played since the beginning of the band (time), that was passed down to us by friends in other (metal) bands. Originally, the rule was, if you tell someone about the game, then they’re automatically in for the rest of their life. Over the years, we’ve adjusted the rules a little bit, as well as adding burritos and wraps to the eligible list of food items, which also include sandwiches and burgers. Here’s how it works (we recommend playing a game only when you eat out at a less than fancy restaurant): First, you have to order one of the above food items. Let’s say you order a burger and fries, for example. Once you take a bite of your burger, it’s officially in the game. The next thing you do after taking that first bite is crucial. Either you need to a) keep the burger in your hand until you finish it, or b) put it down and immediately place something on top of it to protect it. This could be a french fry, a napkin, a fork or anything that’s not part of the burger itself. Failing to protect your burger in either of these two ways invites other players in the game to literally smash the shit out of your burger with their fist, the harder the better, so it’s completely inedible. You could also stand on your chair and come down with the full weight of your body and fist onto the burger. Believe it or not, this is a game about patience and humility, and the number one rule is there’s no retaliation allowed whatsoever. If the victim retaliates violently by revenge smashing another burger or cursing, or whatever it is, the victim then has to pay for the meal of the person that destroyed their burger. Likewise, if you unlawfully smash someone’s burger that’s protected, you the smasher have to pay for the victims meal. This is not a game for the sensitive or faint of heart. It can get very dark if you let it. The first time I joined the game, we were in San Luis Obispo, eating at Firestone, which is a great burger spot in downtown SLO. This was in the early days of Delta Spirit, so good food was few and far between when we were on the road. After a long drive, we were starving and excited for this burger spot, specifically the ABC burger (avocado/bacon/cheese). I ordered one, a basket of french fries and large soda. In a daze of hunger, I took a bite and my first thought was. “This is amazing, but I forgot to get a napkin.” So I put the dumb burger down, not even thinking about the game, got up and went around the corner to grab a napkin, only to hear loud noise that sounded like a table breaking and a bunch of people gasping. I think to myself, “Fuck!” because I immediately knew what happened. I come back to the table to find my burger not only smashed to pieces, but soaked in Dr. Pepper because Jon hit it  so hard that the table catapulted my drink onto the burger and fries. Some people would not be able to handle this, but there’s a glimmer of hope in idea that some other day, someone’s going to be as dumb as I was, and leave their burger unprotected. Game on.

Video after the jump.